The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1887-12-29
EDIroR PIoNEEK:-In your last issue NJ,

AAAo AGOA1A LIN AOs lCCts
EDIroR ~PIoNEER:--In your last issue Mr.,
Turner offers q poor defense'to the charge l
made against him taking extravagent pay for
his services. He points me to Mr.. Dana;
look what he charged in comparison to me.
Wellif he didf Two blacks never make one
white. The fact is Mr.. Turner, if the col
unans Of the Pioneer can be relied on that was
published at the time, and I think they can,
you and your party made it q plank in your
platform that yon would do the work Of the
late Board in shorter time than it, and at
two-thirds Of the cost, and only on the
strength of these promises you was elected to
Office. And now you try to beat around and
get out Of it by saying the rest of the board
would not work for $2a day and for that
reason you wont. Did John Davis, who does
mot claim to be half as honest Or as great an
economist rs you do, charge any more than
g . day3 think not.
While I am not fighting Mr.. Dana's battle
I think you: showed a very weak: point in
'conparing his record with yours. You
should be charitable enough to admit thai he
wa, only one Of 8 on that Board, and was
possibly in the minority; for certain he was
mot the tail that wagged the dog, as you are?
But at all events he has been weighed in the
balance Of public opinion and found full
weight by a large majority since then, and
from the fact as you say he was specially
elected to buck Turner. His constituents be-
lieve that with all his roguery and extrava-
gence he was preferable to you with all your
90 called honesty and economy. While it is
right that a man should get a fair pay for his
labor, il is also fair he should give honest
services therefor; and l must honestly say
/ do not believe you have.
. Let uslook at a few Of your official acts.
The Treasurer's book, last Thursday showed
that Greiner is yet indebted to the county
S1O6, for taxes unsolicited for '65 and which
he had not reported delinquent. This fact is
we'll known to you. Have you not violated
your oath Of Office when you have not com
PEELED him or his bondsmen to pay that mon
ey into the Treasurery or dispose Of it as re-
quired by law? Don't you think it would
have been better to get that 5000 straighten-
ed out ere you commenced to rake Dana from
sole to crown? l would like to ask you, have
you. any moral or other right TO ~willfully dis
obey the law? Was you not sworn to comply
with its every requirement? Look at your
nisappl opriating the money You found in an
illegal fund when you same into ~ofice-that
sinking or special fund-when the law di-
rected you to turn it into the county general
fund to meet the Indebtedness. -
Do you think you did right in adding ST.
100 Ut one stroke to the already huge debt Of
tine county--in that gopher tail business
and place the Treasurer in a position that he
may yet have to refuse payment on your
warrants or be indicted before an U. s. Jury
fcr misdemeanor? Did you comply with the
requirements of the law when you failed to
raise q tax to meet the current expenses of
.it~hccounty! Was you justified in raising a 2
mill tax 70 support ar institution that did
not exist, or do you think you can collect it?
And 50 on indefinitely.
But while your sins of commission have
been many, your sins Of omission have been
more. Did you embrace the opportunities
that we're offered to bond the county so as to
bring our warrants to a cash basis and re-
ducs the interest on our debt? Did you take
tbs steps the law allowed you to COMPEL Nc
Henry County to pay up that $4,000? Did
you take advantage Of the law that allows
you Is . corporation to segregate land from
the public domain for wagon roads, free Of
charge, and thereby save the county som
thousands Of dollars! Or will you do it now?
At the risk Of being impertinent l would
beg to remind you that when the people per-
smansntly locate the county seat next fall
you will require to supply the officers with
sufficient accommodation; that abortive look
ing shack you have at Tregents will be Of
little account then md besides you will more
than likely have to furnish jury rooms and
8 court house; do you think 1t would be in
s6rfer to take steps that these could be pro-
sidsd for without depressing the people by
high taxes? These aud many other questions
ought to receive some attention at your
hands; It is full time you aroused your DOR
mant brain and become aliyeto the necessities
sof the hour. It is not the dead issues of the
past you have to deal with but the living
present. The future welfare of the county
demands that her affairs be put at once on .
lawful, business like and economical basis,
md the stigma removed from her good name
which you have done the lions share in afix-
Ing on her, that hsr county board is chiefly
known by their willingness to do wrong.
, Respectfully. FARMER.
Mouse River Notes.
Last weeks cold weather caused . small
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